The Migration-Development Model Can Serve Two Masters: The Transnational Capitalist Class and National Development

Abstract

This chapter explains the migration-development model from both its scholastic and politico-economic strategic roots as employed by global and national elites. It examines this model theoretically from the frameworks of world-systems theory, power-transition theory, and the transnational capitalist class perspective. The conceptual model and its diverse theoretical underpinnings were applied to the cases of India, China, South Korea , and Taiwan. The chapter demonstrates that, contrary to the argument of many advocates of the South, the migration-development model is not necessarily a counter-hegemonic strategy for challenging Western powers. While it is true that the migration-development model can contribute mightily to national developmentin terms of human capacity and infrastructureit can also reinforce the entrenched dominance of the transnational capitalist class throughout the world. Keywords:India; migration-development model; power-transition theory; Taiwan; transnational capitalist class; world-systems theory